Impact of Premature Childbirth on Parental Outcomes During Baby's NICU Stay and Beyond

Impact of Premature Childbirth on Parental Outcomes During Baby's NICU Stay and Beyond: "Preterm Parents" Study on Polish Cohort

The main objective of this project is examining whether there is a relationship between preterm delivery and parental' problematic emotional bond in the early postpartum period.

The secondary outcomes are as follows:

• To evaluate whether there are any differences and similarities between fathers' and mothers' level of parental bonding, stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in case of premature birth.
• To evaluate whether there is a relationship between preterm delivery and the persistence of maternal' problematic emotional bond three months after childbirth.
• To indicate what kind of predictors might affect the parental' problematic bond in the early postpartum period.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parents of children born below the 37th week of pregnancy (clinical group) or above the 37th week of pregnancy (control group) hospitalised in a neonatal setting during recruitment period
• Which agreed participating to the study after having complete information about it and sign a consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Parents may not participate in the study if one of them suffers from a serious mental illness.